Of Snowstorms and Pine Needles
by Nelauk
Summary: Lysa-an Absol living alone in the frozen mountains-is out hunting when she stumbles across a handsome young Gardevoir called Absinthe, lying in the snow close to death after he is caught in an avalanche. Lysa makes the decision to save his life, and from that point on her life is never really quite the same...
1. Chapter 1

A slender shape trudged through the swirling snowy torrent, her blue claws sinking deep into the white.

Lysa had been hunting all day, but she had found nothing. The forest seemed to be entirely dead, with not a single thing moving within it. Already her stomach was beginning to demand food, and underneath her thick winter coat, her body was rail thin. I could eat my own leg if I had to. The Absol considered that seriously for a moment, but she pushed it away.

Lysa tasted the air, trying to detect even the faintest scent of prey amid the whirling wind and snow, but, as she expected, nothing came to her.

A shiver passed through her. The cold was getting to her bones.

Lysa growled to herself in frustration, squinting as she continued to make her way through the biting wind. There was no sign of life for miles around, and the Absol grew more worried as time passed. How could she survive the winter now?

_Oh, Arceus, at least send me something, even if the prey's meager._

And then suddenly, as though her prayers had been answered, she heard a soft crunching noise not far from her.

Prey! Her body shivering with sheer relief, Lysa nosed around for the source of the fresh new scent, and it came to her quickly. She looked and saw a lone Taillow, who was pecking about at a shriveled shrub protruding from the snow.

Licking her jaws, the white feline crouched, her eyes narrowing to slits. She couldn't let this opportunity pass up; it could very well mean the difference between life and death for her.

_Come on, little bird_, she urged the small creature inwardly,_ come to me..._

She came close enough that she could reach out and swipe the Taillow into her jaws. Already Lysa was slavering at the thought of sinking her teeth into the little bird's body, and her stomach growled desperately.

But just before she could make her move at her soon-to-be prey, the Taillow flew off.

"No!" Lysa yowled, jumping to her hind legs as an attempt to bring the animal down.

She fell to the ground in frustration, growling and snarling furiously, her blue claws scoring deep marks into the snow until she could feel the frozen ground below. _I almost had it! I almost did..._

Lysa let out another furious yowl, but she trailed off rather abruptly, because she could suddenly hear a faint rumbling sound in the distance.

Alert now, the Absol whipped her head to the direction of the noise. She had spent her whole life in the mountains, and she knew exactly what was causing that great, thunderous noise.

_Avalanche!_

Frozen with fear, all Lysa could do was listen for the sound. It was growing louder with each second.

Horror flooded her veins, and in a burst of adrenaline, Lysa turned and ran away from the thundering noise, as fast as she could muster. The avalanche was coming right at her.

As she ran, she could hear the rumbling come closer and closer, until it was practically deafening.

It was no use. She knew she couldn't outrun the tumbling wall of snow; it was much too fast for her.

A tree then appeared, jutting out of the snow. Suddenly Lysa had an epiphany when she saw it. I could just ride the tree until the avalanche stops. Feeling more confident and certain now, the Absol tensed her haunches and launched herself from the ground, and landed onto the tree. Gripping the bark as hard as she could, Lysa braced herself for the impact of the rushing snow behind her.

In an instant the tree was knocked off from the ground, roots and all. Lysa's entire body lurched along with it, nearly throwing her off the trunk.

Gritting her teeth, Lysa kept on holding fast onto the trunk, the wind roaring past her ears as the avalanche continued to roll underneath her. All the blood in the her body, it seemed, was rushing backwards.

But she could tell that the snow was beginning to slow down; eventually it reached a shallow slope, and the avalanche began to decrease in speed dramatically. It wasn't long, to Lysa's everlasting relief, until the snow eventually stopped moving.

Thank Arceus, she thought, tumbling from the tree trunk and landing into the snow with a soft plop. Panting with exhaustion, she eventually got up, all four of her limbs trembling like branches in the wind. She was alive. For now, at least.

Shaking her head, the Absol walked down the slope, not really intending to find herself any prey now; the avalanche had probably buried them all.

"There's always tomorrow, I suppose," she told herself._ If I even make it to tomorrow, that is._

The snow was rather deep here, thanks to the avalanche, and more than once Lysa had to struggle to pull herself out of the deep drifts.

But it did eventually grow shallower, and Lysa walked more easily this time. Her paws crunching in the snow, she made her way back to her den, every single bone in her body aching. The whole ordeal earlier had really sapped a lot of her energy away-

_Plop._

Lysa cried out as she landed face first into the ground, and she laid there, her rump in the air and her muzzle in the snow. She cut a rather comical figure; luckily nobody was around to see it.

Or so she thought, anyway.

A soft groan made Lysa give a little jump, and immediately she righted herself. The sound had came behind her, so she turned around, wondering where it came from.

The Absol saw who it was. A Pokemon was laid in front of her, moaning softly and giving a little twitch of its body every once in a while. But it was unlike any kind Lysa had ever seen; it was long limbed, with green markings all over its white body, and on its heaving back she could see a strange red horn sticking out from it.

Lysa sniffed at it; the Pokemon moaned again and seemed to move closer to her, feebly raising one green arm.

_I've never seen it before_, she thought. _What could it be..._

Lysa struggled to remember, racking her brain for any sort of memory that could help her...and she did remember her mother telling her, all those years ago, about the different Pokemon of the land.

_White and green. A..._ The name eventually came to her_. A Gardevoir, I think._ They had sloping green hair and the flowing skin...she sniffed at it again. This one had two long, white triangular flaps instead of the gown, and did not a possess the long, curving hair. _A male one._

Lysa considered eating him; the Pokemon was easy prey, anyway. He was weakened and helpless, completely vulnerable to the elements...she could just kill him and then she'd be replenished. Easy as that.

So she opened her jaws, leaning in, and was about to close it about his neck when she heard the Pokemon hiss softly and bat at her weakly with his arm.

Lysa flinched a little. She suddenly felt rather sorry for him. He looked so weak, really, and hungry too, like she was...the Absol leaned away from him, blinking at the trembling body on the ground.

_I don't know whether I should help him or not. He might just waste my energy I need for hunting..._

The Pokemon whined softly and reached out for her again. _Maybe I should..._ she thought.

Lysa leaned in again and nuzzled her head underneath his body, threw him onto her back. Although the Gardevoir looked frail and thin, he was surprisingly heavy and the Absol strained a little under of the pressure of his body. It felt warm on her spine.

She felt him shift and wrap his arms around her neck, his face buried into her thick fur. His breath was labored and it appeared that the Pokemon was not that far from death. I_ have to bring him to my den now, or he'll be done for,_ Lysa thought.

Although it was a slow and arduous trek, she did eventually make it to her den, and, her entire body sore and shaking from the Pokemon on her back, she gently lowered herself and let him slide slowly from her back. He moaned softly and curled up, bringing his knees to his face. Here in the den it was warm and sheltered well from the weather.

Lysa nudged him. "Are you...are you okay?"

The Gardevoir groaned again and turned to lie on his back, his body rising and falling with every single breath he took. He did not seem to hear her, or at least he was too weak to reply.

"I'll bring you food," Lysa told him. "I'll try to find you something good to feast on."

Another moan. He stretched his legs out.

Sighing, the Absol sat down on her belly, resting her chin on her paws. She gazed at him, mostly because she wanted to make sure he didn't die, and also because he was a little intriguing. She had never really got a good look at the Gardevoir when she found him in the snow, but now she could. He had a fine, handsome face, with pale green hair that was round and sleek but grew tousled towards the end; a red scarf was wrapped around his throat.

And he wasn't as frail as he appeared to be; he was thin but she could indeed see some muscle on his otherwise slender body. Maybe he must travel a lot.

The Absol had never really had any Pokemon at her den, other than ones she killed for prey, of course. But this was different. Pokemon from the lower lands rarely came up the mountain, unless for a good reason.

_I don't know why anyone in their right mind would come up here,_ Lysa thought, frowning at the Gardevoir, who was still out cold. _Unless they're too adventurous for their own good..._

Lysa got to her paws, deciding that it was high time she'd find some food for him. And maybe for myself, too.

"I heard that," came a ragged whisper from behind her.

Lysa gasped and whirled around, and saw that the Gardevoir's eyes were open. They were a vibrant red and seemed to pierce deep within her.

"You heard...what?" the Absol asked, a little scared.

"What you thought." His voice was weak.

"Oh," said Lysa, "well, I'm...sorry."

The Gardevoir smiled at her, sending a strange feeling up Lysa's spine. "I'm not mad at you," he told her, rolling onto his side. "Because I can understand...the mountains aren't a friendly place."

"True," agreed Lysa. She couldn't help but rather like him a little. He seemed friendly enough.

The Gardevoir spoke again. "Also...I have to thank you. You saved my life, and...I don't know how I can repay you."

"You don't have to," Lysa told him hastily.

"Even if..." He gave a sigh and rolled onto his back again. "Even if you tried to eat me."

The fur on the Absol's back stood up, as straight as pine needles; this statement came straight out of the blue. "Well-um-I'm really sorry about that. I won't try to do that again."

"You sure about that?" asked the Gardevoir, half jokingly, though Lysa could indeed detect some suspicion in his voice. "Because you don't seem to be in tip top shape."

"I can always go out and find prey for myself."

"Good luck with that. I didn't see any Pokemon for miles around."

"I can try," sighed Lysa. She then added, after a bout of silence, "It's strange, having company here...I never had anybody to talk to, really."

"You've been alone all your life, then?" asked the Gardevoir, struggling to sit up but falling onto his back again, as he was too weak.

"Yes. No-wait, I did have a mother. I lived with her for a while and well...she died."

The Gardevoir gave her a deep look of sympathy. "I'm sorry to hear that. I know exactly what it feels like, trust me. How did she die?"

"Old age," Lysa told him.

"A natural way to die. My mother...now she didn't die naturally." He closed his eyes, remained silent for a moment, as though he were trying to suppress something painful. Outside, the wind howled sorrowfully, as though it were grieving along with him. "My father killed her, you see."

"Arceus!" gasped Lysa, her hackles rising.

"Slashed her to pieces. I wanted to become a Gallade like him, but...he killed my mother, so I become a Gardevoir instead. In her memory."

"That must've been awful," the Absol said sadly.

"Well, he was always kind of messed up." The Gardevoir smiled at her again, though it seemed forced. "But let's talk about something more...cheerful. Like...what's your name, for instance?"

"My name? Lysa."

"Lysa," he repeated with relish, as though he was tasting it. "That's a pretty name."

Lysa felt her cheeks grow warm in an instant. "T-Thanks," she stuttered, trying her very hardest not to smile.

"Okay, maybe that was a little...creepy of me," the Gardevoir chuckled a little nervously.

"N-no," Lysa reassured him. "No, not at all."

"Really?" He sighed in relief. "Good. Anyway, I'm Absinthe."

Lysa nodded, whispering his name to herself. Absinthe. She liked it. It rolled off her tongue easily.

"You can call me Sinthe for short, though. That's what my teammates call me." There was a note of longing in his voice. "But...whatever suits you, I guess."

"Your teammates?"

"Yeah." Absinthe sighed, bundling up in his red scarf. "Azora and Misha...I just hope they aren't dead, or worse..."

"I hope they don't think you're dead, either."

Absinthe smiled sadly, looking down at the earthen floor. "I don't know if I'll ever be reunited with them again."

"No, don't say that," Lysa told him, walking up to her. "I'm sure they'll find you."

The Gardevoir gazed at her, locking his eyes with hers; Lysa tried to look away, but couldn't, they were just so intense. "Are you really sure about that?" he asked her tersely.

The Absol tried not to falter. "I'm sure," she whispered.

"I hope you're right." Absinthe closed his eyes and drew his legs up to him. "So tired...I think I'll sleep."

"You have to eat though."

"I'm not hungry at the moment," he told her politely. "Really, you should be finding food for yourself. I mean, look at you."

Lysa sighed, looking at her paws. He was right...she did look terribly haggard. She supposed she had to go out hunting again, had to sniff all over the place for even the most faintest scent of prey-it was so grueling.

But the Absol noticed something; there was a sudden, tense look on the Gardevoir's face, and his eyes were saucers. He had, or was, seeing something.

"Is there something wrong...?"

Absinthe gestured quietly towards the mouth of the den. Lysa looked behind her, and lo and behold, a plump Pachirisu was sniffing about, its black eyes big and scared.

Instinct took over the Absol's mind in an instant. In no time at all she crouched, wiggling her haunches as she slowly approached the squirrel, who seemed completely unaware that she was there.

_Almost there..._ Lysa felt excitement rise within her chest, setting her heart to beat at a staccato rate.

She closed in, and before the Pachirisu could take notice the Absol pounced onto it and sunk her claws into its back, disabling it. Lysa gave it a swift bite to the neck, killing the squirrel in an instant.

"Yes!" Lysa licked the blood off her jaws, purring triumphantly. Her first catch in days, at last...

Gratefully she turned to Absinthe, her tail wagging furiously. "Oh, thank you," the Absol mewed, stamping her bloodied front paws on the ground in delight. "For pointing it out, I mean."

"I don't want you to starve, don't I?" the Gardevoir answered good naturedly. "Anyway, I dunno why it was so close to your den. "

"Maybe he's just stupid." Lysa began to tear into the plump morsel, her mouth watering at the taste of juicy meat in her jaws.

"Or old," Absinthe suggested. "Maybe blind." He watched the Absol rip out chunks of meat from the lifeless body; it was a rather messy affair, really, and, grimacing, the Gardevoir looked away.

"You can have the tail," Lysa offered in between mouthfuls, nudging the said thing towards him.

"I don't know, Lysa. It's...raw."

"Really?" The Absol was genuinely confused; it was perfectly safe to eat it. It wasn't like she had snuck in some yew berries into the tail. "Because I eat it raw all the time. I don't see what's the harm."

Absinthe said, "I eat it cooked. You're just used to eating it raw, but I'm not, so..."

Lysa blinked at him for a few seconds more, still baffled. These lowland Pokemon were strange; she didn't really understand why they had to cook what was already perfectly fine meat.

"Maybe you could cook it," Lysa suggested, even though she wasn't sure if it was possible to start a fire here or not.

"Maybe," Absinthe murmured, shrugging. "I don't know if I can even make a fire, though."

The Absol looked towards the mouth of her den; another blizzard had begun to rage outside. She hoped sincerely that it did not bring enough snow so that it blocked off the entrance of the little cavern.

"I need to sleep," muttered the Gardevoir. Lysa could hear him shift on the earthen floor.

"No," Lysa interrupted him, padding over to the young Pokemon, "wait. Don't sleep yet."

"I have to," he murmured drowsily.

"Absinthe..." She padded up to him.

Absinthe was already asleep, however; the Absol couldn't help but be a little astounded at how quick he had dozed off.

She woke him by tugging on his coattails, and Absinthe's eyes flashed open; he looked up at her, a little annoyed but also curious. "What's wrong?"

"I'll build you a nest," Lysa told him, wagging her tail eagerly. "You can't sleep like that."

Absinthe got up and sighed. "Next time don't tug on my tails, they're sensitive. And are you a bird or something?" He drew his white legs up to his chest horn, chuckling to himself, and then he frowned. "When you pulled it, it felt kind of loose," he muttered, partly to himself. "I think I might be shedding it off soon…"

Lysa turned and walked towards the entrance of her den. She hoped that she could find some vegetation for Absinthe to sleep on; the winter snow had probably killed off most of the shrubbery.

_I'll just have to make do with whatever I find, then_, Lysa thought as she stepped out into the snow.

Her paws sunk deep into the fresh white powder. The blizzard had subsided a little, but there were still quite a lot of great wet flakes swirling about her. Lysa knew that there was a chance the snowstorm could intensify again, so she had to make this quick.

She sped through the forest, kicking up snow behind her. Huge pine trees reared above her into the silver sky, and they were all dusted with white. The Absol leapt above logs and rocks with remarkable precision; obviously she was used to the uneven terrain of the forest floor.

Lysa remembered that there was this hollow somewhere, sheltered from the wind and snow. There was plenty of ferns and leaves and many other things she could use to make a nest.

Where was it, though? Lysa sniffed about, it had to be somewhere around here, she distinctly remembered…

She sniffed, nosing the snow, trying to sought out that one scent, it was ethereal and it was herbal to her nose…

Eventually it became that she was so intent in her scenting that she nearly fell over a cliff, which sent a loud cry from her mouth. Lysa stumbled back; the herbal scent was strong.

The hollow. The Absol stepped forward, looking from over the escarpment.

It was covered with snow! The blizzard must've managed to cover the hollow with the white stuff, too; frustrated, Lysa growled softly to herself and turned away. It was no use-Absinthe was going to have to sleep on the floor tonight, then.

So Lysa ran back just as quickly as she had come. Hoping nothing had happened to the Gardevoir while she was gone, the Absol trotted through the den, panting.

Absinthe was lying on his back, snoring quietly. He was asleep.

Sighing, Lysa felt a little tired herself also. All that running had certainly leached away a lot of her energy from her.

She walked in a circle for a brief moment, and then lay down, rolling on the floor as she stretched her legs out. Lysa turned to take a look at Absinthe, who was deep in his slumber. He was shivering quite a bit, however.

_That isn't good. He could freeze to death in his sleep, or..._

Lysa scooted up to him. She could curl up around him, that way both of them would stay warm.

The Absol nuzzled up to him, pressing against the Gardevoir's thin body; he groaned and shifted close to her.

He smelled faintly of mint and pine needles, a nice, green smell. Lysa fell asleep, lulled by the sound of the steady rhythm of his breathing.


	2. Chapter 2

The sounds of footsteps woke Lysa up; she rolled onto her back, blinking as her vision gradually cleared.

"Absinthe," she mewed, getting to her paws. "Absinthe-?"

The Gardevoir was nowhere to be found. Lysa's heart gave a lurch-he hadn't left her, had he? Or been killed…

Fearing the worst, Lysa scurried out of the den and out into the icy world outside. It had be snowing last night, and she ran through the fresh deposit of the white powder, her heart pounding like a drum. Where was he?

Birdsong was in the air, and shafts of sunlight shone down through the morning mist, giving a shimmering radiance to the snow beneath the Absol's feet and the icicles hanging from the frosted trees. Lysa herself seemed to blend in, her white fur a part of the landscape itself; she looked like a winter spirit.

But the Absol had no time to appreciate the sights and sounds around her; finding Absinthe was her first and foremost priority.

"Absinthe!" she cried out, her breath coming out in a wisp of cloud. "Absinthe!"

"Up here," said a voice.

Lysa jumped in shock and looked up. There, in the snowy boughs of the pine trees, was Absinthe, who was smiling down at her from a branch mischievously. The morning breeze ruffled his hair and his coattails drifted in the wind.

"Did I scare you?" he asked casually.

"You did! Oh, Absinthe, I thought you dead, or-"

Absinthe smiled again and assured her, "Well, I'm far from dead. And I'm sorry if I scared you like that," he added a little guiltily.

"You could've at least told me," Lysa muttered, sulking.

"Hey, don't be like that. Come up here with me," the Gardevoir prompting, gesturing for her to come to him.

Lysa looked up at him, baffled. "Are you sure that branch will support the both of us?"

"Trust me, Lysa. I know trees. I climb them all the time." To demonstrate, he knocked on the branch he was sitting on. "See? Nice and sturdy-oh, Arceus, a splinter!" He clutched at his hand, wincing.

Lysa snorted, amused. "I hope you don't get any on your bottom also."

Absinthe rolled his eyes at her. "Come on, Lysa. Trust me-it won't break."

"I hope I can," said Lysa doubtfully. Waking up to the base of the pine tree, she propelled herself off from her hind legs and jumped onto the trunk, digging her claws deep into the damp wood. Grunting, she climbed up, making sure not to fall.

All the while Absinthe looked at her intently, looking ready to save her in case she fell.

Lysa managed to climb onto the branch the Gardevoir was sitting on though; it was wide and there was a mild depression along the middle, so she could sit on it quite comfortably.

"The forest's pretty, isn't it?" Absinthe commented, looking about him. "Especially in the mornings. There's the sunlight and the mist and the snow's shining around you."

Lysa simply nodded, inwardly agreeing with what he said. Together they both sat in silence, enjoying the feel of the breeze on their faces and the sounds of the trees rustling and the birds singing. The Absol felt like she could stay up her forever, it was just so peaceful.

"I just like being up here, you know? I relaxes me." Absinthe sighed, tightening his scarf around him. "If only Misha and Azora were here, though, we always sit in the trees together…"

Then he turned to look at her. "But you're here, Lysa. I'm satisfied with that, too."

Lysa smiled shyly at him, wagging her tail. "Me too," she purred happily.

More silence. The sounds of the forest reigned again. Then Lysa asked, "Who are they?"

"Huh?"

"Azora and Misha, I mean."

Absinthe sighed and looked off into the distance. "My teammates. We go exploring, and...we're very close. We've been together for years, through thick and thin…"

Lysa smiled gently at him. "Go on."

"Misha's a Lucario," continued Absinthe, "and Azora's a Froslass. They're both my greatest friends, and...honestly, I wouldn't know what to do without them."

Lysa had never really had a friend herself throughout her years of living...until Absinthe came along, of course. She tried to imagine what it would be like without him, and...she felt a sadness envelope her for a moment. "It must be hard for you," she sympathized.

"It is," he confessed quietly. "But you're here, Lysa, and I consider you my friend, too. So I'm not really alone."

They both smiled at each other, and looked off into the trees again. The Absol watched a lone snowflake swirling down to the ground before her, then a pinecone, which fell more swiftly.

"Watch this," Absinthe said suddenly, and he extended his hand towards the cone.

Suddenly the pinecone stopped falling, and just stood there, floating in mid-air. Lysa's eyes widened and she breathed softly in amazement.

Absinthe made the pinecone move without even touching it. It followed where his hand went, and the Absol could hear a very faint humming in the air. She wondered at it, and asked him, "How do you do that?"

"I just concentrate on it," the Gardevoir explained carefully, his red eyes still intent on the pine cone, "and I just...sort of...make it float."

He made the pine cone move for a few moments more, and then, bored of it, he let it fall to the ground. Lysa watched as it hurtled towards the earth and landed with a soft plop into the snow.

"Most of my powers come from my horn," he added, pointing to the red thing protruding from his chest.

"I kept thinking what that horn was," Lysa mewed, looking at it curiously.

"It does a lot of things. It can sense emotion...sort of like how you can sense natural disasters with your horn?"

"Yeah," Lysa confirmed. "It's saved me countless times. And can you sense what I'm feeling right now?"

"Sure can! You're feeling very blissful; I can sense it in the air around me."

Lysa reached out and touched his chest horn; it felt warm to the touch.

"When it's warm," Absinthe told her, "it means I'm blissful, too. And happy."

Lysa pondered for a moment, and then asked, in a more quieter tone, "What happens if you lose it?"

Absinthe looked at her curiously, tilting his green and white head. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"If you…" Lysa tried to word this question well as hard as she could. "If it...it was ripped away from your body."

"Lose all my powers," he told her instantly. "Wouldn't be able to sense emotion anymore...and maybe even die. It's the worst that to could happen to us."

"Why?"

"Because my powers...they're used to protect. I was born to do that," said Absinthe grimly. "I'd die for my friends if I had to. I really would."

Lysa gave him a deep look of admiration. So the stories about his species' trademark loyalty were true, then.

"If you lost your horn, Lysa, then you-Lysa?"

A sudden wave of dread washed through the Absol, all the way to the very tip of her scythe-like horn. Something wasn't right.

"Lysa-what's wrong? Is there danger…?" Absinthe looked around him, his eyes alert.

Her muscles tense, Lysa looked down towards the ground below the tree they were sitting on. A foul scent was carried on by the wind and reached her snout. She gave a deep sniff of the smell, and reeled a little. She knew this scent far too well.

"Glalie," she whispered, and just as she said it, a horde of the Pokemon she had mentioned appeared from the trees. They were big, ugly things, with black and white ridges and markings on their skin-two black horns poked out from their head. Lysa knew firsthand at how vicious they were; never had she escaped a battle without a scar with these creatures.

Absinthe looked down on them, the same weary look in his eyes. Lysa supposed that he had some bad experiences with these Pokemon, too.

The horde beneath them snarled and chattered, in some incomprehensible language. Luckily none of them seemed to take notice of the two Pokemon in the trees above them.

_That's a relief. If they notice us-_

Suddenly an icicle fell from one of the branches, whizzing through the air until it bounced off from the top of one of the Glalie's heads.

Lysa's breath hitched. The Pokemon looked up, its cold blue eyes landing directly on the Absol and the Gardevoir.

"...Crap," cursed Absinthe, under his breath.

The Glalie began to bark and chatter to his comrades, who all turned their gazes to the two Pokemon. Excited at the prospect of fresh meat, the horde began to snarl and hurl themselves again the the trunk of the pine tree. Their gazes were trained up at them the entire time, their eyes wild, ravenous and burning.

The branches shook, and snow fell to the earth. Lysa gripped onto the bark, her heart pounding furiously as she watched the Pokemon headbutt the trunk of their pine tree.

"What are we going to do?" Lysa cried worriedly, gasping every time the tree was hit.

"Try to scare them off, I guess!" Absinthe let out a vicious hiss at the horde of Glalie, his eyes red silts. "Step off, will you!"

Lysa snarled and hissed at them too, hoping to perhaps intimidate them. But these Pokemon were undaunted by the pair's attempts, and instead they crashed into the tree trunk with greater ferocity.

"Well, that didn't work," shouted the Gardevoir, above the horde's savage cries. "Guess I'll have to just…"

Lysa watched in amazement as Absinthe took a violet aura about him-his eyes glowing, he sent out a wave of energy about him, hitting the horde of Glalie spot on.

They all roared in pain, some of them bleeding from their eyes and their mouth. Disoriented, a few of the Glalie crashed into the rocks and trees around them, snarling and groaning in agony.

But some of them were still standing-the lead Glalie, his eyes blazing with rage and running with blood, gave a great headbutt to the trunk of of the tree, throwing Lysa off balance. She fell to the earth, caterwauling in sheer terror.

"Lysa!" Absinthe shouted, looking down at her with huge, horrified eyes.

The snow cushioned the Absol's fall, and she got to her paws, recovering quickly. She'd fought off hordes like these before-and Lysa was more than prepared to do that again.

"I'll fight them off, Absinthe!" she called up to the Gardevoir above her.

Absinthe sighed in relief. "All right. And I'll take them on from up here!"

One of the Glalie began to advance on Lysa. Snarling a challenge towards the Pokemon, she crouched, every muscle in her body ready to lunge.

"Come on," she snarled, "come on…"

The Pokemon screeched and a pale blue ball of light began to form between its horns. Lysa had time to dodge, though; she leapt out of the way at the ball transformed into a beam and shot out at her.

Furious, the Glalie growled and was about to fire another one when Lysa jumped onto the black and white Pokemon, her claws digging into ice casing its body.

She knew where its weak spot was-on the back its soft flesh was exposed through the rock core and ice that surrounded him. Lunging, she drove her horn into it, and she could feel hot blood spurt out. She tore it out from its body, and with it its life.

Lysa jumped off from the now dead Glalie, who fell face forward into the snow, which grew a deep red around its body.

The other Pokemon headbutted into the tree again, and it gave a great shudder. Absinthe was in danger of falling off if this went on long enough.

The Absol ran up to behind the Glalie's back and gored it in the back with her horn again. Letting out a harsh gurgling sound, the Pokemon gave a final slam to the tree before falling onto its back.

Lysa heard a cry of shock and saw Absinthe hurtling through the air; fortunately he managed to stop his fall by levitating himself. Easily he drifted down to the ground, panting.

"There's still more of them," he told her, gesturing to a couple of Glalie not far from them.

"Don't let them get away, then!" Lysa hissed. The two advanced towards them, their eyes glittering menacingly.

One of them glared at Lysa, snarling at her viciously. A beam began to form between its horns, and it fired straight towards her, hitting the Absol right into the chest.

All the air was knocked out her lungs as she was thrown backwards by the frigid blast of ice, and she hit the ground beneath the snow quite hard.

She could hear Absinthe hiss at the Glalie again, heard the sound of energy condensing, and seconds later, a loud explosion. Shards of rock and ice flew about, along with chunks of flesh and blood.

Absol got up to her paws shakily. One of the Glalie had been taken down.

"Thanks," she gasped to the Gardevoir gratefully.

Absinthe nodded and managed to dodge the other Glalie, who was hurtling itself towards him. Yowling, Lysa charged towards the Pokemon and jumped onto it, pinning it down to the icy ground. Letting out a great roar, she raised her head and sent her scythe-like horn straight into the Glalie's mouth. Hot blood spurted out onto her face and fur, staining it a deep crimson. She licked her jaws, getting rid of the metallic taste in her mouth.

"There," gasped Lysa. "Done."

"That was actually kind of exciting," admitted Absinthe, catching his breath. "If not gory."

And then the Gardevoir grunted in pain and clutched at his side. He fell onto the snow, gritting his teeth.

"Absinthe-!" Lysa ran up to him, her voice filled with concern. "What's wrong?"

He groaned in pain and showed her the wound-one of the shards from the Glalie had found its way into his skin.

"Ugh…" Absinthe looked to Lysa desperately. "Hurts…"

"I'll get you back to the den," she said anxiously, "come on."

She ducked her head under the Gardevoir's chest, and he threw himself onto her back, his breath harsh with pain.

Lysa made her way back to the den, and as she did so, she could see the trail of blood forming behind her.

A feeling of dread enveloped her, and she hoped fervently that Absinthe would survive this.


	3. Chapter 3

They were there in due time. Lysa allowed Absinthe to climb off her, and, gritting his teeth in pain, the Gardevoir sat against the earthen wall, grimacing at his wound. The shard wasn't in there deep, but Lysa knew full well that he could end up dying of blood loss or infection.

"I can heal myself," Absinthe whispered harshly, his breathing strained. "So there's no need to trouble yourself with finding herbs."

"We have to pull it out though," Lysa murmured, sniffing at the wound on his side.

Absinthe flinched at these words. Getting the shard out was going to be a painful ordeal.

Lysa knew this, too. She sat down for a moment, deep in thought-maybe she could get something that Absinthe could bite down on to ease the pain, just a little.

"I'll get you a stick," she told him.

The Gardevoir looked confused for a moment. "A...stick?"

"You can bite down on it," she explained, "so you won't feel the pain as much."

Absinthe frowned. "It'll barely ease it, but okay. Whatever you say, I guess…" He grinded his teeth as a fresh wave of pain passed through him, and swore softly.

Lysa was about to turn and leave when the Gardevoir called to her, "Maybe you should get some snow, too. Numbs the pain, right?"

_Oh! Right, why didn't I even think of that?_ "I'll make sure I'll get some," she answered, "provided it doesn't melt when I get back here."

"Maybe some ice then. There must be plenty of it around here, right?"

That was true. Lysa could find some ice in the branches of the trees, or in frozen streams or rivers.

Nodding to Absinthe, she charged off into the open again. She looked around the forest, looking for ice, since she decided that that would be a much better alternative, as it would last longer than snow. Her paws crunching in the ground, she looked around and eventually came across a stream, running through a small depression in the ground. Well, not really running, as it was completely frozen over.

Lysa stopped at its banks. She sat there for a while, her eyes scoring the frozen surface of the stream for a good spot where she could stab the ice to grab a chunk.

Soon she got to her feet again, and, rearing up into the air, she brought her horn down onto the ice. With a splintering crack the smooth surface of the stream broke, revealing the still running water below it.

Lysa grabbed a piece; it was thin, however, and it melted quickly. Dissatisfied, the Absol threw the remains back into the water. She needed a nice, thick piece of ice, one that wouldn't melt so quickly upon contact with her paw.

She picked up another one-this chunk was not as thin, but it still melted relatively fast.

"Oh, come_ on_," she whispered as she threw it into the water. Lysa scooped a well-sized piece of ice from the cold water. This one was perfect; it was thick and felt like a rock in her paws. So the Absol decided this would do, and holding the piece with her jaws, she ran back as fast as she could.

The ice had melted quite a bit when she came back to the den, but it was still large and solid. Triumphantly Lysa trotted over to Absinthe, who was looking worse for wear-the pain must've become overwhelming.

"Hurry," he hissed, "please…"

"Don't worry," Lysa reassured him cheerfully, her voice muffled by the ice in her mouth. She couldn't help but get a little worried at his condition, however. "I'm here. We'll get that out so fast you won't even feel it."

The Gardevoir let out a shaky sigh as the Absol approached him. His injury was beginning to bleed even more now; the white skin around his wound was slick with blood.

Lysa bowed down and pressed the ice against the area where it hurt. At first Absinthe cried out at the sensation of the cold thing against his body, but eventually he relaxed and nodded to the Absol.

"Do it," he told her.

After she had numbed the pain enough, Lysa dropped the chunk onto the floor. Immediately she went for the shard, and, with a swift lurch of her head, she pulled it out.

Absinthe let out a shattering wail of pain, and immediately blood began gushing forth from his wound. It pooled beneath him horrifyingly quickly.

"Heal yourself, Absinthe, hurry!" a distressed Lysa cried, her heart roaring in her chest.

The Gardevoir took on a silver glow, and before her very eyes the Absol watched the wound mend and close itself, putting a stop to the flow of gore that came out of his body. She couldn't help but let out a little gasp of awe.

Gasping, Absinthe slumped down onto his back, a deep shudder passing through him.

"Better?" Lysa asked him softly.

"I think so," he answered, his voice weak. "I feel dizzy though…"

"You'll have to rest, then," the Absol told him, sighing. Worried, the Pokemon paced around the den, trying to remember. She recalled the one time when she lost a lot of blood-she'd rested for a while until she felt strong enough again, and then she would go out and hunt. The meat she took from her kills always made her feel better.

"...Meat?" asked Absinthe, reading her mind once again. "You want me to eat meat?"

"Yes," answered Lysa, "because after I lost a lot of blood, I ate meat, and I felt better."

"Don't you eat meat all the time though?" The Gardevoir smiled playfully at her, although his eyes were tired.

"Well, yes, but it helps," Lysa murmured, wagging her tail.

Absinthe rolled over, keening softly. Lysa stood and watched him worriedly, as his body shuddered with every breath he took. He could still die, she told herself.

The harsh tang of blood was still in the den, and the Absol scrunched up her face at the smell of it. It was getting filthy in here; Lysa supposed that she would have kick dirt over the puddles of blood the Gardevoir left tonight.

She turned and left the den, because it was getting damp and uncomfortable in here, and also because she had to find meat for him.

Time passed. The clouds moved along with it, as did the sun. Lysa sniffed and foraged about for food; she'd managed to catch a few tiny birds and rats here and there-they were currently swinging from her jaws-but she wanted something more.

Flakes began to fall around her as Lysa searched for a few minutes more. She looked up, sniffing the air; another blizzard, it seemed, was brewing.

_Ugh,_ she thought wretchedly,_ they're just happening again and again, aren't they?_

She went back to the den, her quarry in her mouth. Lysa guessed that this would do._ I don't care if he doesn't like to eat it raw-_

"Lysa," a voice suddenly hissed.

The fur along the Absol's spine bristled and she arched her back, her legs tense with fear. "A-Absinthe?"

The Gardevoir came out from behind a tree-he was gripping onto the trunk for dear life, it seemed. "Lysa-the-"

Lysa padded up to him, gazing up at Absinthe with her wide red eyes. "What?"

"The den. It's collapsed."

The prey fell from her jaws and landed into the snow under her, staining it red. The world seemed to dip beneath, her legs were close to giving out-

"_W-what…?_" she finally blurted, as the realization slowly dawned upon her. Dizzy with shock, she studied the Gardevoir's face intently, trying to find any sort of mischievous sparkle in his eyes.

"I managed to get out," Absinthe told her weakly, hanging his head. "I think it was the snow-there was probably a lot of it on the top."

Lysa suddenly charged forward, in the direction of her den. A part of her fervently hoped that Absinthe was lying to her, that he was playing with her, but in all honesty he did not seem to be that kind of Pokemon.

She could hear Absinthe following after her, and together they trudged through the snow. Lysa's heart was in her throat, and she swore she thought it could leap out of her mouth at any moment.

"Hey, slow down!" she heard the Gardevoir gasp behind her, his voice strained.

Lysa stumbled out towards the mouth of her den; or at least, what was left of it. What had once been her shelter was now a great mound of soil and snow, rising into the air a few inches above her head. Devastated, the Absol let out a low wail of grief and collapsed onto the frosty white earth, burying her dark blue face into the snow.

"L-Lysa…" Absinthe began, reaching out towards her, but then the Gardevoir keeled over and began to retch, for he had exerted himself too much.

The Absol turned to look at him, the sound temporarily snapping her out of her stupor. Absinthe gagged, his hands on his stomach, but he managed to regain himself and told her again, "Lysa, I'm sorry…"

The Gardevoir crouched down on shaking legs, his face sad and sympathetic. He extended one green arm towards her, as a gesture of goodwill. Whimpering, the Absol went up to him, rubbing her furry white head against the Pokemon's chest, along his red horn. It felt quite warm, and she could feel something thrum within it…

Absinthe embraced her, sighing deeply into her fur. "We'll find you a new home," he assured her, running his fingers through her fluffy mane. "A nice cave, maybe. Something warm and cozy."

Lysa sniffed and looked up into his white face. He seemed just as sad as she was, maybe even more so, and for a moment the Absol felt a strange connection towards the green and white Pokemon. "What about you?"

His red eyes seemed to glow softly. "I'll be fine. And anyway…" He turned to gaze at the sky, where the snowflakes came swirling gently down. "I need to find my teammates," he whispered determinedly.

Lysa leaned against him, keening sadly. "But the state you're in-"

"I can manage," Absinthe told her, smiling gently at the young Absol.

Lysa nodded slowly at him, feeling dazed. As he smiled at her, she felt that strange feeling begin to rise within her belly again.

"Anyway, you went out to hunt, right?"

"Oh, yes-oh!" Lysa disengaged herself from Absinthe, a jolt of shock running through her body. _The prey! Of course!_

The Absol whipped around, calling for Absinthe to follow her. Together they made their way back where she had dropped her prey.

A Murkrow was tugging at the tail of a Rattata she had caught. Snarling, Lysa leaped towards the bird and sunk her claws into its black feathers, since she decided that it was better killing it than scaring it off. It meant more prey.

She nudged the carcass of the Murkrow towards Absinthe, who was beginning to look skeptical again. "You can have this," she said. "I'll have the other pieces of prey."

Absinthe narrowed his eyes at her catch. "Well...I guess I'll try it."

Smiling at him, Lysa tore into the Murkrow's flesh, and pulled out a well sized chunk of meat for him. She could taste it in her mouth, and the Absol tried her hardest not to eat it.

"This is yours," she mewed. She watched the Gardevoir take it, and he held the chunk before him for a moment, his eyes apprehensive.

"It's very fresh. It won't kill you."

Sighing, Absinthe tore a piece, chewed slowly and swallowed. "Not bad," he admitted, licking the blood off his lips. "Really bloody, though."

"Well, get used to it, because this is all you'll be eating for a while," Lysa meowed half jokingly.

They both grinned at each other for a moment. But then the memories of the den came rushing back and Lysa closed her eyes, her sorrow falling onto her like a blanket.

Absinthe's face fell, too. "We'll find a new den, Lysa. Don't worry."

Her head bowed, the Absol nodded silently.

They began to move through the snowy forest. Both the Absol and the Gardevoir had two things on their minds, two priorities; to find a new den, and searching for Absinthe's teammates.

Lysa led the way, since she knew the forest like the back of her paw. They both leapt over frozen streams and climbed over boulders and fallen tree trunks that had fallen into their path. She could hear Absinthe pant behind her, and every once in a while they both had to stop, so the Gardevoir could rest. Then they would get up, and resume their journeying.

Eventually the trees began to thin. The forest grew less dense, and the pines and spruce began to spread farther out apart, exposing the snowy floor between them.

Lysa began to grow worried. Now that they were exposed, their chances of survival had lowered drastically. What if a blizzard came? They would have nothing to shelter in!

Absinthe felt the same way; her emotions, Lysa realized, seemed to affect the Gardevoir just as much.

"Need to rest," he said, starting to pant again.

They found a boulder, smoothed by the wind and snow, protruding out from the ground. Absinthe sat against it, giving a great big sigh. The two Pokemon were there for a while, and during that time Lysa found herself studying the young Pokemon beside her again. She couldn't help it-he was still very much fascinating.

Lysa noticed that his skin, the strange garment that coated his body, was looking rather saggy. She could see dark creases in some areas, and, alarmed, she sniffed and scuffled her paws on the ground.

"Are you okay?" asked the Gardevoir, turning to look at her. He was looking very alert now.

"Your...your skin?"

"Ah." Absinthe sat up. "You don't need to be concerned. I'm just shedding."

"Shedding?" Lysa stared at him, biting her lip.

"Just a natural thing," he said, patting her on the back. "It happens at the end of every month."

Then a new look appeared on his face, a worried one. "Oh, no...it's not a good time though." His eyes wide, he locked eyes with Lysa's, blinking at her pleadingly. "I don't know what I'm supposed to do…"

"I...I don't know." Suddenly the Absol began to feel very uncomfortable, because she wasn't a Gardevoir and therefore had no idea how she could help him. And then there were other things…

Absinthe swallowed and looked away, tugging at his red scarf. The duo sat at the boulder, not saying a word to each other. They both felt equally uneasy until Lysa got up to her paws and said, "Come on, we've got to go."

''Kay," Absinthe murmured, standing up. He ran a hand through his mint hair. "Lead the way, Lys."

Lysa couldn't help but crack a little smile at this new nickname he'd given her. She could hear Absinthe ask good naturedly from behind her, "You're okay with me calling you that, right?"

"Y-yes," she answered. "Yeah."

"Lys it is then," Absinthe chuckled, and he drifted up to her side. Both in good spirits now, Lysa and Absinthe slowly made their way down the mountain.


	4. Chapter 4

"Lysa," Absinthe said excitedly, "look."

Curious, Lysa went up to see what the Gardevoir could but she couldn't. She walked up the ridge until the scene unfolded before her, and at the sight Lysa trembled in awe.

A great lake the color of the sky above it sprawled beneath the ridge, its surface as smooth as glass. It was frozen at the edges, and at its banks great pine trees reared into the air. From there it extended all the way back to the woodland Lysa and her friend had came from, and from there even further on. They were all dusted with white, like fine sugar, so the trees shimmered and sparkled under the cold sunlight.

The wind roared as it buffeted the fur on her body, and she could taste it, the smell of pine and water...everything looked so big, so colossal. The very sight dizzied her, and the world felt as though it were plunging beneath her feet.

And then a strange sensation began in the tip of her horn and spread all the way through her body. Something wasn't right, all of a sudden-

_Crack._

The edge of the cliff gave away beneath her, and all of this happened so fast that Lysa didn't even have the opportunity to cry out.

She managed to land on her paws, but the slope was so steep that she found herself running with the rocks and dirt that tumbled along with her down to the floor of the valley. No matter how hard Lysa tried, she couldn't stop.

"Lysa!" The Absol could barely hear his voice above the air screaming in her ears.

She found herself at the bottom in no time, and, with a grunt of surprise, she tumbled into a snow drift, white powder exploding about her. It absorbed the full brunt of her hit, and so luckily she did not slide any further.

"Ugh…" She lifted her head from the snow drift, giving a great sneeze. Shaking, she watched as the air that had jetted from it crystallized in the air. _I'm lucky it didn't kill me!_

Then there was a very sudden flash of rosy light. "Lysa!" Absinthe gasped, his voice frantic with fear.

The Absol yowled in shock and listed forward into the pile of snow. Once again she had to tear her head away from it, and, looking worse for wear, she turned to Absinthe, her eyes wide.

They both stared at each other, for forever it seemed, until, finally, Lysa felt a giggle coming up her throat. And then another, right out of her mouth. Soon the Absol was laughing as if there was no tomorrow, her entire self shaking as she gasped for air. It was out of relief, since she was alive, and amusement, for she imagined that she must've looked a little silly coming down the slope, and also because Absinthe had somehow magically appeared before her, just like that.

The entire thing was just absurd, really. A confused Absinthe peered at her, baffled, and asked her, "Why are you laughing?" He inquired this to her in spite of himself, for he was starting to giggle along with her. "Huh? Why are you laughing?"

"I-" she panted, "I-I just am-" And then she guffawed and tumbled onto her back, wallowing in the snow as peals of laughter tore from her throat.

Absinthe watched, smiling and giggling to himself, for she looked very comical and a little cute too, what with how she was rolling in the snow, like a small puppy. But most of all he felt elated, because Lysa was safe.

The Absol eventually recovered, though she still let out a little snicker here and there. Happily she bounded up to the Gardevoir, her scythe-like tail slicing back and forth in the air.

"This whole thing, it was just so funny," she told him, circling around his white legs. The Absol bumped against them more than once, as a gesture of affection. The Gardevoir seemed to recognize this, for he bent over and ran a hand through her snowy fur. "I guess so," he answered, smiling. "Nothing's broken?"

"Nope," replied Lysa. "I'm fine."

They set their sights towards the lake, which was only a stone's throw away from them.

"I think I remember this place," Absinthe recounted. "Me and my team went through here, all right…"

"Really?" Lysa sniffed the air, but she could scent nothing.

"Well, that's what I think," said the Gardevoir. He glided towards the lake, his coattails streaming like water behind him. Lysa followed suit, admiring the way the Pokemon moved through his environment-it was very slight and elegant, not clumsy and rough with the way she walked. Unconsciously she found herself trying to replicate his movements.

"Yeah, this is the place," Absinthe announced, nodding to the frozen surface of the lake before him. Then he turned to Lysa, and saw what she was doing-standing on the tips of her claws, her back arched.

"What are you doing?"

Lysa fell back onto her paw pads. "Nothing." Walking normally now, she padded up to where Absinthe was standing, and together they stood on the pebbly shore, looking out across the lake.

"Do you smell them? Their scent?" he asked her softly, his attention still towards the water.

"No," answered Lysa, glancing over at him.

Absinthe drooped his head a little, drawing in a shaking breath. And then, out of nowhere, his face crumpled and he began to cry, hard enough that his legs gave out from beneath him and he collapsed onto the beach. The Gardevoir clutched at his horn as he fell, as though it had been set on fire.

"A-Absinthe?!" Lysa was astounded by how sudden his emotions had changed. Everything about him was so sudden, she realized.

She went towards him, bowing her head towards the sobbing form. "Absinthe…"

The Gardevoir looked up at her, his faced flushed from his weeping and embarrassment. His eyes were shining with his tears and appeared redder than usual. "I-I'm sorry, it-I lost control there-usually I'm able to keep it in-"

He sat up, throwing his head back and humming softly in sorrow. "It's just...oh, Lysa, they're my best friends, you have no idea…" He leaned forward and drew his knees up to him, and he rested his chin on both of them.

Lysa sat on her haunches next to the Gardevoir, tilting her head. "We'll find them."

"I hope," Absinthe sighed. "I don't know, Lys-what if they gave up on searching for me? What if…" He lifted his head from his legs, his pupils dilating with fear. "What if they ended up replacing me?"

"Absinthe, that doesn't mean you should give up-"

"_No,_" the Gardevoir interrupted her, and this time his voice was sharp with anger. It was as though he were picturing the scene before him, and that was enough to fill him with a deep fury. "I'll find them, before they even think about replacing me. And if they did…" His eyes darkened to the color of blood. "I'll…"

Instinctively Lysa averted her gaze away from his face. She didn't want to provoke him-he looked so furious.

He noticed how he had disturbed Lysa, and this filled him with a deep guilt. "Lys, I'm sorry," he apologized, reaching out to touch her bristling fur in an show of comfort. "I won't act like that again. It's just that the whole thing...I just hate it."

"You don't need to apologize," she murmured. "It's natural." But deep down she felt a little disturbed, because she thought Absinthe wasn't capable of thinking of such brutal things. For a moment she feared the Gardevoir, because with the way he expressed his feelings-so raw and so pure-Lysa thought with a sense of dread about what he was capable of.

Absinthe managed to detect her fear. "You're afraid of me, aren't you?" he asked, hurt. "Don't be."

Lysa shook her head and wiggled up to him. "I didn't mean to feel that way, Absinthe," she murmured to him apologetically. "I'm sorry."

"I try my hardest to keep them in, Lysa, I really do. Sometimes…" He closed his eyes, hugging his legs to him. "Sometimes I can't."

She nodded understandingly to the young Gardevoir. "It's all right. I can see that."

Despite what she'd said, the mood still felt quite somber and tense. Wanting to ease Absinthe's grief a little, she suddenly got up, ran across the beach and to the snow.

"Lysa…?"

Quickly she balled up a snow in her paws, and rearing up onto her hind legs, she threw it at him. It hit him square on the face, and the Gardevoir yelped in shock.

"Hey!" he shouted. "What was that for?"

He's not angry, is he…?

But her guess was shot down when Absinthe returned the favor, conjuring a snowball with his psychic powers and directing it towards her.

"Aah!" Lysa stumbled back, flinching. She could hear the Gardevoir laughing at her.

"Not funny!" She began to make another snowball, but before she was even finished another one hit her again. Snorting indignantly, all Lysa could do was stand there and dodge the lumps of snow.

"Can't take the snow, Lys?" he taunted, though not out of malice.

"Yes. Stop!" Lysa rolled over to evade another snowball, lifting her paws to bat an one away.

"All right." The Gardevoir deactivated his powers. "I'll stop."

"Good." Purring, the Absol was about to get up and go back to sit by his side when another snowball hit her in the face.

"Why, you…" she mock-growled, leering at the guffawing Pokemon before her. Crouching, she wiggled her haunches and then propelled herself off the ground and onto Absinthe. Playfully she licked his face, and the Gardevoir giggled and gently batted his hands at her.

"Aw, Lys, stop!" he whined, snickering at the Absol. "You're mauling me!"

He managed to push Lysa onto her back, and he had her pinned against the ground. Lysa wiggled in his grip, still feeling rather excited.

"Stop," he drawled, smiling down at her. "Stop it."

Lysa licked her lips, relaxing a little. She looked up at the Gardevoir's white face, his shining eyes. The sun shone from behind him and seemed to frame Absinthe in a silver light, illuminating his features. The strange feeling came back, but more intense this time, and the Absol could feel her cheeks grow warm. She sagged beneath him.

"Give up?" His voice sounded triumphant.

"Y-yes!"

Chuckling, Absinthe rolled off of her and onto the pebbly earth. "Think we should keep moving?"

"I think we can stay here," answered Lysa, "for a while more." She stretched out all four of her limbs, sighing contently.

Absinthe sat up, rising above the young Absol. "Whatever you say, Lys."

Eventually, however, they had to get up and continue on again. The sun was beginning to lower, and as it was winter, it wasn't going to be long until it disappeared behind the mountains completely. It tended to become especially cold during the night time.

And as they went, heading away from the lake, Lysa could hear Absinthe make a few soft sounds of distress. His coat-like garment was sagging even worse now, and slowly it began to slough off him.

"Damn it…" he muttered, mostly to himself. "I might freeze…"

"Can't you keep it on you?" asked Lysa. Briefly the two Pokemon ducked under a low hanging branch that was in their path.

"Dunno," he answered. "Maybe I could keep it for warmth, though."

The sunlight grew dimmer with every second, and with it the forest darkened. Usually the night creatures would come out at this time, but they were hibernating instead, and as a result the woodland around them was eerily silent. Nothing made a sound, save for the wind whispering among the trees and the rhythmic noise of the duo's uneven footsteps.

Lysa began to grow a little desperate. There was no cavern, or any kind of shelter, for that matter, where they could both sleep.

_If we don't find anywhere where we can sleep_, she told herself inwardly, _then we'll both die._

_Don't worry_, a voice in her mind whispered; it sounded exactly like Absinthe. _I know what to do._

Lysa then realized it was Absinthe. He'd managed to get into her mind, somehow, and not just through reading it, but by speaking to her in her head as well.

_How…?_

_It's just psychic stuff. Telepathy. Like how I'd teleported to you earlier…?_

Lysa remembered that quite vividly, and she smirked to herself again. _Oh, right, that. But what did you mean?_

"I mean," he said, audibly this time, "I can build a lean-to."

The Absol jumped. "A lean-to?"

"It's like a den," Absinthe explained to her, teleporting to her side. "But you build it yourself."

Lysa found herself at a loss. She struggled to understand what he was suggesting to her-creating a den, instead of trying to find one. But she failed to grasp at what he was saying here, for although the Absol was quite intelligent and a good learner, there were just some concepts her brain could not comprehend at all.

"Make a den? But how?," she demanded skeptically. "You can't do that."

"Of course you can," said Absinthe. "I mean, my kind make their own dens all the time."

Lysa was astounded. She tried her best to envision one of his species building a shelter, conjuring it out of the earth...but her mind faltered. She still couldn't picture it. But one thing the Absol knew, however, was that Absinthe and his kind seemed to be quite intelligent, by leaps and bounds ahead of her. Lysa couldn't help but feel a little inferior to him, like a cub to its mother.

Still, she wanted to see if the Gardevoir wasn't lying to him. "Then prove it," she urged him, giving him a gentle nudge with her head.

And so Absinthe did, to Lysa's everlasting amazement. She watched as he snapped the branches off of trees and use his abilities to gather sap from the interiors of the trunks.

Deftly the Gardevoir assembled the branches together, in a roughly triangular shape, and used the sap to bind the wood together. He used the smaller, more flexible branches to wrap around the shelter, to keep the shelter together. Lastly, with a final clench of his hand the materials tightened, and the shelter was finished.

"That...that…" Lysa's voiced trailed off-she was at a loss for words. She was astounded beyond belief at how he could take things from the forest and create a spectacle like this...it was amazing. Still incomprehensible, but amazing nonetheless.

Absinthe smiled at the stupefied look on the Absol's face. "Is that all the proof you need?" He crawled into the lean-to. "Come on," he said, beckoning to her. "It's nice and warm in here."

Dazed, Lysa slid into the lean-to. He was right; it was quite toasty in here, very much so.

Absinthe was asleep in a matter of minutes. And as the Absol began to drift away as well, she thought she could hear him whisper something in his slumber.

She listened more closely. They were names.

"Lysa," she heard him murmur, his voice smothered by sleep. "Misha...Azora…"


End file.
